A Comatose Nightmare
by jrosie
Summary: it all seems so real. lily comes from another school to hogwarts, dark presence is felt in the castle but not all of the school fights against it, and an outsider finally sees the truth. R&R!
1. New Beginnings

a/n: i just further edited this ch on the words of my beta reader. enjoy:-)

_**Moaning Myrtle** _

Lily shut the door behind her and fell against it. She slid down the wall and sat on the floor for a few minutes, wishing she were back at her old school. She wouldn't cry anymore. She couldn't. There weren't any more tears left to cry.

"WooooooooooAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

A wailing sound so startled Lily that she jumped and hit her head against the door.

_What in heaven's name, was that?_ She thought.

"OOOOOOoooohh looks like someone's been CRYING!" said the same voice that had been wailing only minutes before. Lily glanced around to find the owner of the voice. Her gaze rested on a young-looking, transparent girl. She was a ghost.

"May I ask who you are?" asked Lily, eyebrows raised.

"I'M Moaning Myrtle. Who are you? Noo one comes into my bathroom. It makes me feel, it makes me feel, sad. So, why have you ventured into my…humble abode?"

"Oh! I'm sorry Myrtle. I'm new here. Did you know Professor Evans? That's my mom. I'm Lily," she answered. She sighed again, realizing that before today, her body did not know what a sigh was, unless it was over a boy she thought was cute. "I just transferred schools. I was crying because, well, I'm leaving all my friends, and Quidditch, and my classes, and, and, and, I want to go back!" Tears began to fall down Lily's face again, and her body convulsed as if she were having a seizure. She had been wrong. She wasn't done crying. Her voice shook as she began again. "I, I have ttto go ttto clclass. But I cccan't sstop crying! I just mmmiss everyone ssso much! I'm sscared people won't lllike me here because my mmmom and bbbecause I'm new. Wwhat if I cccan't make friends?"

"You're welcome to come share the U-bend with me. I stay here every day, every night, all alone. I haven't even left since, I died."

"That's so…sad," said Lily, wiping away her tears again as she regained normal breathing. This girl was obviously worse off than she. Lily just had to put a smile on her face and suck it up. She was going to get through this if it killed her. "I really have to get to class, I'm sorry Myrtle. But, not before I clean myself up. You can watch if you like," she added, as she noticed Myrtle floating there, intently watching her.

"Oh no, you go ahead. I'm going to go back to my toilet and take a nap. Pity you won't join me in here. See you later." With that the girl's ghosted floated over to one of the stalls and went in.

SPLASH

Lily began humming the same song from before once again.

_Moaning Myrtle just sort of helped me I guess. I was being a little, well, dumb. I'm not as bad off as I thought._

Lily walked to the nearest faucet and attempted to turn it on. "That's funny, it doesn't work!" Lily said aloud.

"That one never does," Myrtle's voice answered from somewhere in the toilet behind her.

"Oh well. Thanks Myrtle. I guess I'll use this one," she said, moving to a different basin. Water cascaded out as she turned the knob. She looked quizzically at the other. She wondered what was wrong with it, and why no one had fixed it. She lived in a world of magic after all, didn't she? She reached into her robes and pulled out her wand. "_Reparo_," she commanded strongly. Nothing happened. _Well that's odd,_ she thought. As Lily made to replace her wand deep within her robes, she noticed something quite odd. There on her chest she sported a Gryffindor Lion on the previously plain, black material just moments before. She fingered the design, wondering how it had gotten there. But yet, almost kicking herself, it was a magicking world, and anything was possible. The charm for the lion must have been quite simple, really.

Before turning back to the running water, Lily stripped herself of the bulky, black robes for better access to the sink, and to avoid soaking herself more than necessary. She hung them over the door of Myrtle's stall, and returned to the running faucet. Looking in the mirror, she found she looked slightly better than she had expected. Her puffy eyes were almost returned to their normal glow, though still red from her tears. Her plain, pink shirt was slightly wrinkled from the heap she had sat in, but nothing she couldn't fix with a flick of her wand. Before fetching her wand from her robes, she turned off the still-running water. Once she had her wand in her hand, she pointed it at her clothing and, in turn, her robes, muttering _Rectarus_. Her clothing was instantly wrinkle-free. Even so, her hands absently-mindedly smoothed her low-rise, washed out jeans. Her outfit hugged her curves in all the right places. Looking down at herself, she realized her chest had mysteriously grown without her notice. _Well now, that's strange_, she thought to herself. _Now where did those come from?_ _Nothing to complain about, though, I suppose._

Lily laughed at herself as she returned to the sink and created a stream of water once more. Cupping her hands into the flow, she splashed her slightly blotchy face with the cool liquid. Turning it off, she reached for a towel and dried off her face. She looked in the mirror again. Her eyes were still a tad puffy. She decided to reapply her makeup. No more crying for the day. She would be all set. She hastily applied cover-up and then eyeliner and mascara. Not a lot, only enough to accentuate her features. Dusting herself off and checking her reflection once more, Lily replaced her new Gryffindor robes, gathered her things and strode out the door.

"'Bye, Myrtle." Lily thought she heard a muffled 'Farewell' come from the toilet, but couldn't be sure.

With that Lily was on the way to her first class at her new school. She glanced at her watch. Only 10:14. Checking her schedule, she headed back towards Dumbledore's office and toward her first class at Hogwarts, Transfiguration. After walking down the corridor, she found the door on the left.

_Wow that was a quicker jaunt that I planned on. Well, here goes. _Thought Lily as her heart began to beat faster in her chest.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door to the transfiguration room and stepped in, and the door shut heavily behind her. She felt as if she were locking herself into a great trap where she would hardly be able to leave. Hearing the door open and shut, thirty pairs of eyes looked up from the teacups they were trying to transfigure. Their eyes rested on the mysterious new girl standing in the doorway.

"Why Miss Lily," said Professor McGonagall. "Welcome. I've been expecting you. Class, this is Miss Lily Evans. She is new to us from Owlhorn's Preparatory School of Magic. It is a larger school of magic in Wales. They do not have houses as we do here at Howarts, so if you all will make Lily feel welcome and introduce her to the school that would be wondrous. Miss Evans will you please come down and seat yourself here next to Mr. Black.

Lily's face seemed to burn a bright pink as she made her way down the rows of benches toward the seat the professor had gestured toward. A few of the boys whistled.

"Now, now, that's enough, boys. Lets not bother Lily too much, thank you."

It seemed to Lily that the professor was placing a bit too much emphasis on her name. She figured that it was probably so that everyone would remember it. Lily found her seat and plopped herself onto it. She looked at the boy Professor McGonagall had called Mr. Black. But what was his first name?

"Hi," she said finally.

"Hi," he repeated. "Sirius, Sirius Black. Niiiice to meet you," he added, staring at her chest. Lily wished she had a shirt that read "My face is up here" with an arrow pointing from her chest to her face.

"Well, uh, you probably know, I'm Lily. Evans."

SLAP The boy that was Sirius whipped around as he was slapped across his face by the girl sitting on the other side of him.

"What are you doing with _her_?" she asked. "You _manslut_!" The girl got up from her seat and walked out of the room, slamming the heavy door Lily had just walked through behind her. Sirius shrugged.

"Girls," he said, rolling his eyes. Mumbling, he added, "I was just trying to be nice to the new girl."

"What was that all about?" Lily asked.

"Oh, nothing, my girlfriend just went ape on me. Well, I'd better go fix what I've just done. See you," he said, as he rose to go speak with the professor.

Lily glanced behind her and greeted quite a few glares from the girls in the class. She also noticed a certain, messy haired boy sitting quite close to a skinny brunette in the back of the room. When he thought no one was looking, he began sneaking a snog from the girl Lily assumed was his girlfriend. They did not go entirely unnoticed, however, for the professor slapped a book on a desk near the boy that Lily thought was called Potter. James maybe? She couldn't remember exactly.

"Mr. Potter!" McGonagall shouted. "Maybe your teacup would transform if you would get your eyes, hands, and mouth off of Miss Wentworth and applied them to the work you are supposed to be completing. Detention in my office on Saturday night at 8pm. You will be scrubbing each of these desks until they sparkle. Without magic," she added. Lily stifled a giggle, but shrugged. He was a good looking boy, she would try to sneak a snog with him if she were the brunette girl next to him. Glancing around once more, she sat there by herself feeling awkward. Professor McGonagall surprised her by striding over to her.

"Lily dear, were you aware that we, here at Hogwarts, also wear uniforms during classes under our robes?" the Professor asked her.

"Oh, no ma'am. I'm sorry I didn't know they were for every day. At my old school we only wore them for mealtimes and special occasions. Would you like me to change?"

"No, after class will do. You may, however, wear the clothing you have on under your robes after hours. Mealtimes we wear the uniforms, as with during classes and school events like quidditch matches, which are mandatory. During your free time you may choose what you wish to wear. At the moment, however, we are transfiguring these teacups into mice. Do you think you could do that? I don't know how far you are in your studies from your old school."

"Yes, Ma'am. I can do that. We've been transfiguring trunks into pigs just this past week, so I should be fine. Thanks, though."

"Wow, I guess you shall be quite all right, my dear. If you need anything, I'll just be walking around the room, as much of the class hasn't yet mastered this task. I may ask your assistance and helping the others."

"No, professor. That's O.K. I'd rather just mind my own business, thanks," said Lily.

"Well then," replied the professor, "It seems as though you are all set then." She turned and rushed toward the back of the room where a mousy-looking, blonde-haired boy seemed to have just lit his notepaper on fire. Lily sank back into her chair before beginning on her teacup. Within minutes, a squeaking mouse raced around the desk. She dug in her purse and found an extra quill. She transfigured that into a cage. Grabbing her mouse, she placed him in the cage to avoid wreaking havoc in the class should the mouse have run loose about the place. Sirius had come back to his seat with the girl who had slapped him earlier in tow. Getting a better look at the girl, Lily realized she was very pretty, with long blonde hair and blue eyes. She wasn't short, but wasn't tall either, and she was very skinny. She reminded Lily of her best friend back at Owlhorn. Her mouth twitched at the thought of her old school and old friends, but she did not cry. Sadly, she would not be ever speaking to her old friends again.

"Did McGonagall come over here and do that as an example for you?" asked the girl, gesturing at the mouse in the cage in front of Lily.

"No," answered Lily, blushing. "I did," she added quietly.

"I'm Lacey, by the way. Nice job on that. Did she give you the cage? I can't seem to get the hang of this stupid charm. Don't know what's wrong with me," said the girl giggling and placing her flirty head on Sirius' shoulder. Sitting up straight again, Lacey looked at Lily again. "You're Lily right?"

"Yeah," said Lily. "Uh, nice to meet you. Would you like me to help you? I guess this is one of my favorite subjects. We used to do it a lot at my old school."

"Sure, like, totally thanks, Lily," cooed Lacey. "So, um, before you teach me this magic junk, you're last name is Evans, right? Professor Evans, are you er, related to that woman?"

"Erm, yeah, yeah I am," responded Lily hesitantly. "She's my mum. But…I'm not too..proud, I suppose, of it. Er, anyways all you have to do is swish and swish, and you've got it. Here, try that with me." As she said that the two girls went over the spell. It took a few tries, but Lacey finally got it.

"Wow, totally thanks Lily. I don't know what I'd do without you," giggled Lacey.

"Well, what are friends for," joked Lily. It had been the first time she laughed all day, which was quite unusual for her.

"All right class, that is all for today," said Professor McGonagall. "Pack up your things, and I'll see you on Wednesday."

"Lily?" said Sirius, but she had already gone. It was almost as though she vanished into thin air. _Weird,_ he thought. He shrugged. _Must have just run past or something, and I didn't notice. _Sirius walked out of the class, and with a quick kiss, Lacey was gone towards her friends who were waiting for her at the other end of the hall. He rolled his eyes. _Girls!_ He thought. _Can't live with them, can't live without them._ Looking down at his right hand, the last part made him grin. _DEFINITELY can't live without them._ With one last look over his shoulder, Sirius went off to the Gryffindor commonroom to find James, Peter, and Remus. There he found them lazing about on the couches near the fire.

"Oy prongs! Moony! Did you idiots see the new girl? She's a hot one, that one."

"Padfoot, I don't think Lacey would approve," warned James sarcastically.

"Shut up, all right? She's great in bed. And, she's hot. So shut it,"

"Yeah, Amy's a good lay too."

"You got Amy in bed? You got _Amy_ in bed? How the bloody hell did you do that."

"Told her I loved her. Duh. I, unlike you, have class AND style, Sirius."

"Yeah well whatever James. I've gotten more than you," snapped Sirius.

"That doesn't matter, it's how good it is that counts, anyone knows that. Right ladies?" The girls that remained in the commonroom giggled. A chorus of 'Yes, James' followed.

"Ooh, Jamsie has his own fanclub now huh?" said Sirius sarcastically. James stood and playfully shoved Sirius onto the couch. "Oww," joked Sirius loudly. "Just kidding," he added before the girls crowded around.

"Hey Prongs, Padfoot, cut the shit let's go down to the kitchen and see what the lovely house elf ladies have for us today," Remus interjected. "Come on, Wormtail, you too." The four boys, better known as the Marauders, headed out of the portrait hole and down to the kitchens.

ok again, review! and i hope u like it :-)


	2. Moaning Myrtle

a/n: i just further edited this ch on the words of my beta reader. enjoy:-)

_**Moaning Myrtle** _

Lily shut the door behind her and fell against it. She slid down the wall and sat on the floor for a few minutes, wishing she were back at her old school. She wouldn't cry anymore. She couldn't. There weren't any more tears left to cry.

"WooooooooooAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

A wailing sound so startled Lily that she jumped and hit her head against the door.

_What in heaven's name, was that?_ She thought.

"OOOOOOoooohh looks like someone's been CRYING!" said the same voice that had been wailing only minutes before. Lily glanced around to find the owner of the voice. Her gaze rested on a young-looking, transparent girl. She was a ghost.

"May I ask who you are?" asked Lily, eyebrows raised.

"I'M Moaning Myrtle. Who are you? Noo one comes into my bathroom. It makes me feel, it makes me feel, sad. So, why have you ventured into my…humble abode?"

"Oh! I'm sorry Myrtle. I'm new here. Did you know Professor Evans? That's my mom. I'm Lily," she answered. She sighed again, realizing that before today, her body did not know what a sigh was, unless it was over a boy she thought was cute. "I just transferred schools. I was crying because, well, I'm leaving all my friends, and Quidditch, and my classes, and, and, and, I want to go back!" Tears began to fall down Lily's face again, and her body convulsed as if she were having a seizure. She had been wrong. She wasn't done crying. Her voice shook as she began again. "I, I have ttto go ttto clclass. But I cccan't sstop crying! I just mmmiss everyone ssso much! I'm sscared people won't lllike me here because my mmmom and bbbecause I'm new. Wwhat if I cccan't make friends?"

"You're welcome to come share the U-bend with me. I stay here every day, every night, all alone. I haven't even left since, I died."

"That's so…sad," said Lily, wiping away her tears again as she regained normal breathing. This girl was obviously worse off than she. Lily just had to put a smile on her face and suck it up. She was going to get through this if it killed her. "I really have to get to class, I'm sorry Myrtle. But, not before I clean myself up. You can watch if you like," she added, as she noticed Myrtle floating there, intently watching her.

"Oh no, you go ahead. I'm going to go back to my toilet and take a nap. Pity you won't join me in here. See you later." With that the girl's ghosted floated over to one of the stalls and went in.

SPLASH

**_Heaven bent to take my hand_**

_**And lead me through the fire.**_

Lily began humming the same song from before once again.

_I guess heaven might have considered bending to take my hand. Moaning Myrtle just sort of did. I'm not as bad off as I thought._

Lily walked to the nearest faucet and attempted to turn it on. "That's funny, it doesn't work!" Lily said aloud.

"That one never does," Myrtle's voice answered from somewhere in the toilet behind her.

"Oh well. Thanks Myrtle. I guess I'll use this one," she said, moving to a different basin. Water cascaded out as she turned the knob. She looked quizzically at the other. She wondered what was wrong with it, and why no one had fixed it. She lived in a world of magic after all, didn't she? She reached into her robes and pulled out her wand. "_Reparo_," she commanded strongly. Nothing happened. _Well that's odd,_ she thought. As Lily made to replace her wand deep within her robes, she noticed something quite odd. There on her chest she sported a Gryffindor Lion on the previously plain, black material just moments before. She fingered the design, wondering how it had gotten there. But yet, almost kicking herself, it was a magicking world, and anything was possible. The charm for the lion must have been quite simple, really.

Before turning back to the running water, Lily stripped herself of the bulky, black robes for better access to the sink, and to avoid soaking herself more than necessary. She hung them over the door of Myrtle's stall, and returned to the running faucet. Looking in the mirror, she found she looked slightly better than she had expected. Her puffy eyes were almost returned to their normal glow, though still red from her tears. Her plain, pink shirt was slightly wrinkled from the heap she had sat in, but nothing she couldn't fix with a flick of her wand. Before fetching her wand from her robes, she turned off the still-running water. Once she had her wand in her hand, she pointed it at her clothing and, in turn, her robes, muttering _Rectarus_. Her clothing was instantly wrinkle-free. Even so, her hands absently-mindedly smoothed her low-rise, washed out jeans. Her outfit hugged her curves in all the right places. Looking down at herself, she realized her chest had mysteriously grown without her notice. _Well now, that's strange_, she thought to herself. _Now where did those come from?_ _Nothing to complain about, though, I suppose._

Lily laughed at herself as she returned to the sink and created a stream of water once more. Cupping her hands into the flow, she splashed her slightly blotchy face with the cool liquid. Turning it off, she reached for a towel and dried off her face. She looked in the mirror again. Her eyes were still a tad puffy. She decided to reapply her makeup. No more crying for the day. She would be all set. She hastily applied cover-up and then eyeliner and mascara. Not a lot, only enough to accentuate her features. Dusting herself off and checking her reflection once more, Lily replaced her new Gryffindor robes, gathered her things and strode out the door.

"'Bye, Myrtle." Lily thought she heard a muffled 'Farewell' come from the toilet, but couldn't be sure.

With that Lily was on the way to her first class at her new school. She glanced at her watch. Only 10:14. Checking her schedule, she headed back towards Dumbledore's office and toward her first class at Hogwarts, Transfiguration. After walking down the corridor, she found the door on the left.

_Wow that was a quicker jaunt that I planned on. Well, here goes. _Thought Lily as her heart began to beat faster in her chest.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door to the transfiguration room and stepped in, and the door shut heavily behind her. She felt as if she were locking herself into a great trap where she would hardly be able to leave. Hearing the door open and shut, thirty pairs of eyes looked up from the teacups they were trying to transfigure. Their eyes rested on the mysterious new girl standing in the doorway.

"Why Miss Lily," said Professor McGonagall. "Welcome. I've been expecting you. Class, this is Miss Lily Evans. She is new to us from Owlhorn's Preparatory School of Magic. It is a larger school of magic in Wales. They do not have houses as we do here at Howarts, so if you all will make Lily feel welcome and introduce her to the school that would be wondrous. Miss Evans will you please come down and seat yourself here next to Mr. Black.

Lily's face seemed to burn a bright pink as she made her way down the rows of benches toward the seat the professor had gestured toward. A few of the boys whistled.

"Now, now, that's enough, boys. Lets not bother Lily too much, thank you."

It seemed to Lily that the professor was placing a bit too much emphasis on her name. She figured that it was probably so that everyone would remember it. Lily found her seat and plopped herself onto it. She looked at the boy Professor McGonagall had called Mr. Black. But what was his first name?

"Hi," she said finally.

"Hi," he repeated. "Sirius, Sirius Black. Niiiice to meet you," he added, staring at her chest. Lily wished she had a shirt that read "My face is up here" with an arrow pointing from her chest to her face.

"Well, uh, you probably know, I'm Lily. Evans."

SLAP The boy that was Sirius whipped around as he was slapped across his face by the girl sitting on the other side of him.

"What are you doing with _her_?" she asked. "You _manslut_!" The girl got up from her seat and walked out of the room, slamming the heavy door Lily had just walked through behind her. Sirius shrugged.

"Girls," he said, rolling his eyes. Mumbling, he added, "I was just trying to be nice to the new girl."

"What was that all about?" Lily asked.

"Oh, nothing, my girlfriend just went ape on me. Well, I'd better go fix what I've just done. See you," he said, as he rose to go speak with the professor.

Lily glanced behind her and greeted quite a few glares from the girls in the class. She also noticed a certain, messy haired boy sitting quite close to a skinny brunette in the back of the room. When he thought no one was looking, he began sneaking a snog from the girl Lily assumed was his girlfriend. They did not go entirely unnoticed, however, for the professor slapped a book on a desk near the boy that Lily thought was called Potter. James maybe? She couldn't remember exactly.

"Mr. Potter!" McGonagall shouted. "Maybe your teacup would transform if you would get your eyes, hands, and mouth off of Miss Wentworth and applied them to the work you are supposed to be completing. Detention in my office on Saturday night at 8pm. You will be scrubbing each of these desks until they sparkle. Without magic," she added. Lily stifled a giggle, but shrugged. He was a good looking boy, she would try to sneak a snog with him if she were the brunette girl next to him. Glancing around once more, she sat there by herself feeling awkward. Professor McGonagall surprised her by striding over to her.

"Lily dear, were you aware that we, here at Hogwarts, also wear uniforms during classes under our robes?" the Professor asked her.

"Oh, no ma'am. I'm sorry I didn't know they were for every day. At my old school we only wore them for mealtimes and special occasions. Would you like me to change?"

"No, after class will do. You may, however, wear the clothing you have on under your robes after hours. Mealtimes we wear the uniforms, as with during classes and school events like quidditch matches, which are mandatory. During your free time you may choose what you wish to wear. At the moment, however, we are transfiguring these teacups into mice. Do you think you could do that? I don't know how far you are in your studies from your old school."

"Yes, Ma'am. I can do that. We've been transfiguring trunks into pigs just this past week, so I should be fine. Thanks, though."

"Wow, I guess you shall be quite all right, my dear. If you need anything, I'll just be walking around the room, as much of the class hasn't yet mastered this task. I may ask your assistance and helping the others."

"No, professor. That's O.K. I'd rather just mind my own business, thanks," said Lily.

"Well then," replied the professor, "It seems as though you are all set then." She turned and rushed toward the back of the room where a mousy-looking, blonde-haired boy seemed to have just lit his notepaper on fire. Lily sank back into her chair before beginning on her teacup. Within minutes, a squeaking mouse raced around the desk. She dug in her purse and found an extra quill. She transfigured that into a cage. Grabbing her mouse, she placed him in the cage to avoid wreaking havoc in the class should the mouse have run loose about the place. Sirius had come back to his seat with the girl who had slapped him earlier in tow. Getting a better look at the girl, Lily realized she was very pretty, with long blonde hair and blue eyes. She wasn't short, but wasn't tall either, and she was very skinny. She reminded Lily of her best friend back at Owlhorn. Her mouth twitched at the thought of her old school and old friends, but she did not cry. Sadly, she would not be ever speaking to her old friends again.

"Did McGonagall come over here and do that as an example for you?" asked the girl, gesturing at the mouse in the cage in front of Lily.

"No," answered Lily, blushing. "I did," she added quietly.

"I'm Lacey, by the way. Nice job on that. Did she give you the cage? I can't seem to get the hang of this stupid charm. Don't know what's wrong with me," said the girl giggling and placing her flirty head on Sirius' shoulder. Sitting up straight again, Lacey looked at Lily again. "You're Lily right?"

"Yeah," said Lily. "Uh, nice to meet you. Would you like me to help you? I guess this is one of my favorite subjects. We used to do it a lot at my old school."

"Sure, like, totally thanks, Lily," cooed Lacey. "So, um, before you teach me this magic junk, you're last name is Evans, right? Professor Evans, are you er, related to that woman?"

"Erm, yeah, yeah I am," responded Lily hesitantly. "She's my mum. But…I'm not too..proud, I suppose, of it. Er, anyways all you have to do is swish and swish, and you've got it. Here, try that with me." As she said that the two girls went over the spell. It took a few tries, but Lacey finally got it.

"Wow, totally thanks Lily. I don't know what I'd do without you," giggled Lacey.

"Well, what are friends for," joked Lily. It had been the first time she laughed all day, which was quite unusual for her.

"All right class, that is all for today," said Professor McGonagall. "Pack up your things, and I'll see you on Wednesday."

"Lily?" said Sirius, but she had already gone. It was almost as though she vanished into thin air. _Weird,_ he thought. He shrugged. _Must have just run past or something, and I didn't notice. _Sirius walked out of the class, and with a quick kiss, Lacey was gone towards her friends who were waiting for her at the other end of the hall. He rolled his eyes. _Girls!_ He thought. _Can't live with them, can't live without them._ Looking down at his right hand, the last part made him grin. _DEFINITELY can't live without them._ With one last look over his shoulder, Sirius went off to the Gryffindor commonroom to find James, Peter, and Remus. There he found them lazing about on the couches near the fire.

"Oy prongs! Moony! Did you idiots see the new girl? She's a hot one, that one."

"Padfoot, I don't think Lacey would approve," warned James sarcastically.

"Shut up, all right? She's great in bed. And, she's hot. So shut it,"

"Yeah, Amy's a good lay too."

"You got Amy in bed? You got _Amy_ in bed? How the bloody hell did you do that."

"Told her I loved her. Duh. I, unlike you, have class AND style, Sirius."

"Yeah well whatever James. I've gotten more than you," snapped Sirius.

"That doesn't matter, it's how good it is that counts, anyone knows that. Right ladies?" The girls that remained in the commonroom giggled. A chorus of 'Yes, James' followed.

"Ooh, Jamsie has his own fanclub now huh?" said Sirius sarcastically. James stood and playfully shoved Sirius onto the couch. "Oww," joked Sirius loudly. "Just kidding," he added before the girls crowded around.

"Hey Prongs, Padfoot, cut the shit let's go down to the kitchen and see what the lovely house elf ladies have for us today," Remus interjected. "Come on, Wormtail, you too." The four boys, better known as the Marauders, headed out of the portrait hole and down to the kitchens.

ok again, review! and i hope u like it :-)


	3. Late Night Chats

_**Late Night Chats**_

Down in the kitchens, the four marauders were busy stuffing their faces with treats that Glenda, the head house-elf, had gladly ordered made for them. It was late, but the boys didn't seem to notice, or to care. Once they were satisfied, James turned to get his invisibility cloak from the table nearest them. As he turned, he almost collided with Amy, his girlfriend. She and Lacey were standing there, not looking very pleased.

"Who in the hell do you think you are, James Potter," Amy said, almost shouting, as she stepped forward.

"Half the damn commonroom heard that shit you said, you bastard!" added Lacey, who was almost yelling as well.

"Yeah, you jackass, I never slept with you, you dirty pig!" said Amy, now really shouting. James' face turned beet red and Sirius looked at him quizzically, raising his eyebrows at him.

James' eyes narrowed. "How did you two know where to find us?" he asked.

Lacey smirked. She pulled a roll of parchment from within her robes. "This," she laughed.

James made a dive for the parchment, but Lacey yanked it just out of his reach.

"Uh uh uhhh!" she chided. "Careless, leaving such a document lying around, aren't we? What do you think, Amy? Would Mr. Filch be interested in this?"

"Hah, sure he would. These assholes deserve it."

"Wait, no, don't!" squeaked Peter.

"Haha, and are you going to stop us?" asked Lacy, grinning.

"The dark Lord stops everyone he dislikes." (A/N – before L.V. came to real power and most people did not yet know the name or anything…)

"Hahahah, good one, Peter," laughed Remus, "you always come up with those kind of jokes!"

Peter clasped a tiny hand over his mouth, but quickly slipped it away. "Yeah, that was funny, huh? No, seriously, ladies. You could…use that to your advantage. You know? You obviously already know how to use it, if you got here, r-r-right?"

"No, dumbass Potter left it just as it was on the sofa. Anyone could just use it, or turn it in. What use could this be to us? If _we_ were to get caught with this"? **NO** way," said Lacey.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "It's not just any map! There's enchantments on that thing to protect us, obviously. Did you honestly think we didn't think of protecting our asses? Pfff. **_We_** are not that stupid."

"Well, well, well we'll just see about that," Amy hissed. "I still think Filch would like this…"

James rolled his eyes and mocked the two girls as they turned around, magical map in hand. "Thanks for being a bunch of bloody sluts!" he shouted after them. The other marauders looked upon him curiously, but he figured on coming up with a master plan to retrieve the map later.

"_Accio map"_ shouted Peter, out of nowhere. The marauders turned to look quizzically at him as the enchanted piece of parchment zoomed from the unsuspecting girls and into James' hand. Peter blushed a strange shade of crimson as the girls angrily stopped where they were and turned to face them.

"You assholes will pay I swear it," Lacey retorted. Maybe it won't be one of us that seek revenge, but assholes always get what's coming to them. You will see." With that, the girls left the kitchens and Sirius turned to face James.

"What, in the hell, was that!" James asked Peter, utterly flabbergasted.

"Er…I don't know. I just, wanted the map back?" Peter's response seemed to be hiding something, but the other three marauders weren't sure what it was.

Sirius cleared his throat. "Well, gentlemen, let's head back to the common room," he suggested.

"You got the cloak?" asked Remus.

"Shit!" yelled James. "It was with that map. We're screwed!"

"WHAT!" shouted Remus, Sirius, and Peter all at the same time.

"Hah, just kidding. It's right here," laughed James.

Sirius grabbed James by the neck and proceeded to give him a noogie. "Why. You. Doozler," joked Sirius. (A/N – doozler, that's my new word…hehe :-D)

The four marauders got under the cloak and began their way to the common room. Once there, they removed the cloak. Remus, Peter, and Sirius all started up the stairs to their dorm. Remus, noticing that James was not following turned around to see him standing in front of the fireplace with a long face.

"You coming, James?" asked Remus seriously, worried about James by the look on his face. By then the other two boys had turned around to see James standing there.

James cocked his head towards the boys' dormitory. "Naw, I'll be up in a little while. I'm going to sit down here for a bit."

Remus shrugged. The remaining three boys went up to the dormitories, leaving James staring into the fire. As he sat there, he recalled his first meeting with the mystery girl, Lily. She had been singing a song that day. He began to hum to himself, realizing the oddity of remembering it.

He remembered very clearly, in fact. Lily's face had been puffy with tears. She was obviously upset about something. He wondered what had happened, why she was suddenly at Hogwarts. He figured she was having a hard time adjusting, especially with her mother being the biggest bitch out of all the teachers. She was even worse than McGonagall. James sighed and flopped down onto the sofa. He heard a creaking sound. Turning to see what it was, he realized that Lily was creeping down the stairs of the girls' dormitories. He hunkered down on the sofa so she wouldn't see him, and continued to watch her. She clearly wasn't headed in his direction, which he was grateful for. Instead, she headed toward the armchairs near the other side of the room. She flumped down into the one closest to James, wiping her face with her hands. As he looked closer, he realized that she was crying again. Looking at her, he felt sorry for her. Looking down at his feet, he decided that he should go over to her and see what was going on. He rose and walked towards her. She didn't seem to notice him until he was almost right in front of her. Her face was in her hands and tears were streaming down her face. He noticed that she was slightly convulsing as well.

"Lily? Are you ok?" he said, and she looked up.

"James, right? What are _you_ doing down here?"

"Oh, I've been sitting down here for a while, thinking I suppose. Sirius, Peter, Remus and I just got back from a little dirty work in the kitchens, and I didn't feel like going to bed. I was just staring into the fire, and I saw you come down. I wasn't sure if you'd like it if I came over here, so I waited. But, I thought, what the hell, if she hates me well then she'd just be joining the club."

"Wow, who would hate you?" Lily asked and stopped shaking as much.

"Oh, you'd be surprised. Girl troubles," he added when she raised her eyebrows.

"Sorry to hear that," she said, tears still dribbling down her face. "I'm uh, glad you came I guess. It's been a while since people actually talked to me. I don't know what the deal is, but all the teachers address me as 'Miss Evans,' and since they hate my mom, they all well, hate me or something! Except McGonagall. She thinks I have talent and she tries to stick up for me, but it's horrible I just want to go back to my friends and my old life!"

James was aching for her inside. He didn't know how it felt to be her, or why he was feeling as he did, but he supposed that for Lily it must be terrible. His feelings, however, were unexplainable, for he had just really met the girl and hadn't talked to her longer than three minutes before. "Can I er, ask what happened?" James asked. For some strange reason he longed to console this new girl, but wasn't sure how. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's ok too." He added.

"No, no, thanks. Actually it's probably good if I get it out. Can we go for a walk? I don't really want to sit here," she said.

"Sure," James responded. "But, actually, we have curfew here. We can't be out late. Never fear though, I have this cloak, see, its an invisibility cloak. So we're all set."

James grabbed the cloak off the sofa and gestured towards Lily. She slowly rose from the chair and took one end, wrapping it around herself and James. She had a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach, but pushed it away.

James, though she had no idea, acquired a funny set of goose bumps as her skin brushed his. Lily had long ago shed the Gryffindor robes, for after hours they were not necessary. She had changed from the outfit she had on before, donning a light blue spaghetti strap tank top with sparkles floating down from around her chest and a pair of green pajama pants. Her large amount of bare skin continuously brushed James', making it hard for him to rid himself of the goose bumps. He hoped she didn't notice.

She wanted to hate it there. Yet as she and James walked down the stairs and down a corridor, she felt strangely soothed, utterly pleased with the situation she was entering. Lily followed James as he walked. She had no idea where he was going, but she figured it was somewhere that they'd be alone and no one to hear her pour out her mind to him.

When they finally stopped, they stood in front of a fountain. The fountain was of a great unicorn, looking up at the sky with doves flying around its head. _Wow, _Lily thought,_ this is beautiful. It's almost, romantic. I wonder if he did that on purpose… No of course he didn't. He's just trying to be nice and help me because I'm so upset. Silly girl, why am I so stupid?_

"No one really knows that this place is here." James finally spoke as he let his cloak slip from him and Lily. "I come here sometimes when I need to calm down or think or whatever. Especially after being near that tool Severus. Kid really gets to me. He's smarter than he looks, though. I always thought he was an arse, yet, he does have some brains. Of course, he can't really outsmart me, but that's besides the point. Anyways, you said you would like to talk, so here we are," he said as he sat along the fountain, patting the space next to him. As she took his silent invitation, James slid over a little closer, yet Lily didn't mind. (A/N - yes guys I know that lily and james hate eachother, but u will see! It happens, just waaaiit lol.!)

"I suppose I should start from the beginning right?" she began. "Well, when I arrived at Owlhorn's, I had no problem making friends. I was really popular. I mean, I had a lot of great friends, and we all had boyfriends. I don't mean to be stuck up, or arrogant, or whatever you want to call it. That's just the way it was. I dated the captain of our school's quidditch team. He was very good looking, but quite the prat. Also, we don't have houses, everyone is all-together. Well, the quidditch captain started being a jerk, so I dumped him. He didn't accept that too well, and he took some love notes I wrote him and magically made copies. A lot of people read them. Sort of, well, ruined my reputation. Everyone thought I was sleeping with all of the rest of the quidditch players, since I play as well. Or, I played. Can't say I do that now. I don't even really care to play here; it would bring back too many uncomfortable memories. But all of that rubbish went away. And my friends stuck by me. But then the quidditch captain told me he needed my playing skills on the team, and I was beginning to falter during games because of a lack of concentration. He said he'd cut the immature crap, if only we hooked up again. So I did it, and gave in. A few nights later, I snuck out and got caught. I, unlike u, do not have that cloak. To make a long story short though, I attempted to exact some well, revenge. A prank really, but alas I got suspended. That's another story if you'd like to hear it, but it's not really something I'd care to talk about right now. My mum decided that was it, and it was time to change schools. I was absolutely devastated. But then I suppose it is my fault." The tears were streaming down Lily's face again. James felt the urge to put his arms around Lily again, to console here. This time he succumbed, and wrapped her in his arms. She rested her head on James' shoulder. Still crying, she began again.

"She's…she's not even my mom! Once I got the Hogwarts letter when I was eleven, my muggle parents got rid of me. Professor Evans adopted me! My parents, they didn't want me. I had been raised by muggles for eleven years. No one knew at my old school that I'm a muggle born. What if people here find out? And…call me that awful word? I mean, suddenly, I'm a witch, and its goodbye to you Lily from my muggle parents. They don't even want to see me anymore. My sister, she begged me to stay, and forgo the magic education. She called me a freak when I decided not to stay. She hates me now. What does it matter? I'm in another place where I sure as hell don't belong. —"

"I think you belong, Lily." James interrupted her, looking serious. He gazed into her pretty green eyes, eyes that made him think he could never leave her side. Even through her tears they seemed to sparkle with life. Her beautiful auburn hair that now cascaded down her back was slightly wavy; he had never seen anything like it. When she had rested her head on his shoulder he had been able to smell the deep scent of coconut that seemed to radiate from her long locks. Just looking at her took his breath away. She just had an air about her that just seemed to draw in his soul.

Lily turned to look at him, shocked. "You do?" she asked, her voice slightly quivering. James nodded. "I wish I really felt like that. People treat me like I'm some kind of freak here. It's like being back with my muggle parents. Freak this and freak that. I did want to make something of myself. I suppose I'll just, get on. I hope things get better.

"Sure I do," he answered. "And things will get better, I know they will. You're a brilliant girl. I heard from Sirius what talent you have, and I must say I was extremely impressed." James paused. "You know what Lily? You're beautiful. Even when you're crying. Everything about you, really. Your voice, your smile, everything," he added, wiping tears from her puffy cheeks. James heard a strange sound from the corner, making him jump. He whipped around, but saw nothing. He was about to ask Lily if she, too, had heard the noise, but the look on her face told him that he had better not. She was beginning to look somewhat more relaxed, and he didn't want to ruin it quite yet.

"Thanks," Lily sniffed. "I can't believe you just said that. It was, amazing."

_Well, if you knew how amazing I though you were,_ James thought. He wished he could tell her the thoughts swirling through his head, but found he was at a loss for words. It wasn't quite the time to tell her such things. What if he scared her away?

"I suppose we have been out late enough, though, as much as I'd like to stay here with you. We should go back," Lily proposed, wishing she didn't have to leave this boy's side. "Thanks for listening to me; I don't know what I'd do without you! Oh, and, er, James? Can you promise me something? Actually, two somethings."

"Sure, if it's reasonable I can," he responded.

"First, can you, er, please not tell anyone about all this? You're the only one who knows almost all of that stuff. I couldn't bear it if people taunted me about being…muggle born. And all of the things that happened; it hurts. And well, the other thing is I saw how you were taunting that boy before. He does look a bit…greasy. And he's not that good looking, but he didn't even do anything! Would you please, not do it again? For me?"

"Severus?" James sighed. "But he's a slytherin! Slytherins are nasty creatures, dark if you ask me. They just ask for a beating by existing. But, I suppose if it's for you. Alright, Lily. Let's go back." He looked down at her, and realized that she was sleeping with her head perched on his shoulder. She hadn't even heard anything he had just said. Smiling to himself, _She is absolutely beautiful_, he thought. _I can't get enough of her, but I can't rush into things. Soon enough, soon enough. _

He lifted her sleeping body into his arms, realizing that he forgot the cloak that was resting on the edge of the fountain. He stooped over, picked it up and flung it around the two of them while balancing Lily in the other arm. Luckily, she did not stir. Back to the dormitories he carried her gently, and placed her on the sofa in front of the dying fire. As he fixed the fire, he wondered what the noise was that he had heard near the fountain. Had it just been a rat? The memory of the sound worried him even so. When the fire was crackling quietly, he strode over to the armchair Lily had been sitting in only an hour before, and watched her until he too dozed off.

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	4. Budding Romance?

James awoke suddenly to find the blankets he had placed on the sleeping Lily thrown aside in a heap on the floor. He arose from his seat to pick them up and cover the sleeping girl lying there.

_What an angel_ he thought to himself. _I wish that angel were mine. But considering the circumstances, well, we'll see right? Maybe it will be all right in the end._

James bent to pick up the blankets from the floor when he felt Lily's eyes on him. Or, at least he thought he did. He turned around to find Lily still asleep behind him. But there was someone watching him. Someone was there; he was sure of it. Another Gryffindor? Stumped, he made his way up to the boys' dormitories to check. He'd check the girls' next.

James climbed the boys' stairs and peeked into the First Years' room, all present and accounted for in their beds. Then the Second Years', Third, Fourth, Fifth up through the Seventh Years' dormitories, and found that everyone was where they should be. He did the same with the boys' dormitories.

James could go where he pleased. He and his fellow marauders had learned the secret to invading the girls' dormitories. Usually, boys were blasted from the doorway of the girls' rooms, yet a simple countercharm was the trick to gaining entrance. He quickly accounted for the first through fourth years' sleeping figures innocently in their beds. When he reached the Fifth Year Girls' room, he paused, and gazing in to the newly added extra bed on the far wall. This was where Lily would be sleeping from now on. Her suitcase lay open on her bed, and her pajamas spilled out. Lacy camisoles and short bottoms. He looked further and saw that her undergarments were also poking out. He inhaled sharply. How he wished he could see Lily like that…

A snore from within the room startled James and he realized that he had better get himself out of there and on to the next room. He finished with the Sixth and Seventh Years' dormitories, and found that everyone was in their beds where as they should be.

_That's odd,_ he thought. _There was definitely someone in the room other than Lily and I. Maybe they're gone now._

James descended down the stairs back to the commonroom. He looked to the couch. Lily was still sound asleep. He looked to the boys' dormitory door. It was exactly the way he left it when he went into the girls'. At the bottom of the door he had affixed a piece of tape with his wand, so as to see whether his intruder went in the boys' dormitories while James wasn't watching. Whoever, or whatever it was, did not open the door. James was sure of it. That meant that the intruder either was still in the room or went out through the portrait hole. He closed his eyes and breathed. The intruder was still in the room, but he couldn't feel where.

_Maybe I'm slowly going insane or something. My mind must be playing tricks on me. Or, I'm so tired I'm imagining things. Whatever the case, I'll let it rest so I can get some rest, for now,_ he thought.

Walking back to his chair, James noticed that Lily was stirring. She sat up, unaware of where she was. She woke with a start and stood up, looking around frantically.

"Where the hell am I?" she asked out loud, clearly startled.

"This is the Gryffindor commonroom, remember?" answered James.

She turned to see him. "James?"

"In the flesh. You fell asleep back there, so I, uh, carried you back and put you there. I wanted to be near you to explain how you got where you are, like I am now so you wouldn't be freaked out. I, uh, hope you don't mind."

"No, no I don't. Thanks actually. I was like, oh my God how did I get here was I drunk? I mean, last time…well, we won't go there. The good thing is we're ok, right? I don't really feel like going up to the dormitory just yet. Do you mind if I sit here for a while?"

"No, not at all. I don't really want to go to bed either. I guess I'll help the fire out a little, though. It seems to be dying." James pretended to die a dramatic death on the floor, got up, and bowed.

Lily giggled softly, barely audible, and rolled her eyes. "Lovely. Next time you'll knock yourself out and _I'll_ have to be the one rescuing _you_!"

"Nah, I think I'll be all set. And, so will this fire," he said as he finished stoking the fire.

"I have an er, question for you James," Lily said cautiously.

"Yes? Did I do something wrong? From the looks of your face, I did." James was worried. What could possibly be the matter? _Please no don't hate me_, he thought.

"Er, that girl you were all over? In transfiguration this morning. Who was that? Are you still…together? I don't want to step on someone else's feet. Or be second hippogriff to someone. Like you. I'm…sorry. I'm not meaning to be a prat or anything. I just want to get out of a situation I could get hurt in."

James looked at Lily, stunned. Why hadn't he noticed that she was in his Transfiguration class? She would have had to be anyways, all the fifth year gryffindors had classes like Transfiguration together. "Well, she was my girlfriend." Lily looked crestfallen. "But she's not anymore. We had a…falling out so to speak. It just didn't work; we weren't set out to marry each other. And don't worry, I wouldn't dream of doing that to you, he added, just for good measure.

"Well, ok then. I was just afraid. Afraid of getting hurt. I don't need anymore crap like I always get."

"No, Lily, you don't. Guys can be stupid. I know, I'm one of them." James sighed. He had been quite the asshole lately, and he wasn't proud of it. "Ok, time to finish fixing this pathetic looking fire."

James strode over to the dying embers, and Lily got a tingly feeling in her gut as she watched him work. She moved over on the couch to make room for him. "Hey, uh, I wanted to thank you for what you did earlier. You didn't have to listen to me bitch about everything. I'm glad someone at this stupid school cares. I figured I'd get here, and bang I'd be the new kid on the block, the loser, and like, no one would care. So yeah, thanks. And thanks for carrying me up here. Really, thanks for everything." Lily smiled for the first time all night.

"Bang!" exclaimed James, startling Lily. "I made you smile! Finally. You should do that more often. Really," he said as he winked at her. He sat down beside her.

"You know," James continued, "I've had my own troubles, and well, I understand when someone's got it rough. Don't worry about it. And trust me I won't tell a soul. You're not one I would like for an enemy…Besides, I like your company. You're an interesting girl."

_And a beautiful one. Actually I love spending time with you._ He wanted to say what he was thinking, but didn't think it was what she wanted to hear just then. It might scare her.

"Interesting? What's that sposta mean? Is that good-interesting? Or bad-interesting?"

"Oh, definitely good-interesting. You've got character, more than any of the other girls at this school. They're empty-headed valley-girls, the lot of them. You, you're something else. Sirius told me about this morning's class. It should have hit me that I was there too. I'm just an oaf, what can I say? You're a smart one too. And pretty. Any guy is an idiot to have to even look twice at you." James furrowed his brow, afraid he had said too much, while Lily raised hers.

"Oh really now, Sirius told you about class, did he? Well, I suppose I see what you mean. That bitch hanging off him was quite a, um, slut, and a stupid one at that. I spent almost the whole class teaching her this charm. And it's simple, really! I mean, I didn't mean to sound arrogant or anything." Lily winced.

"Haha, don't even worry about it. To be quite honest I didn't like her either. Her and my girlfriend, are best friends. Ex-girlfriend," he added, when she raised her brows again. "Bitchy ones, the both of them. I can't stand either of them," he said with a smile.

"Yeah, but you know, hearing you say that, I wonder what people said about me at my old school."

"Huh? About you? What do you mean.?"

"Well, I was a lot like them. Everyone saw me as a face. One of the popular girls. Well, I don't mean to sound stuck up or anything but, I always had a guy. I guess that's what got me into trouble. I mean, no one knew that I was on the high honors every term. See at our school, student helpers do that sort of thing. Our headmaster had several student helpers in his office. Take care of attendance, write the list of who made the honor roll, etc. Well, I was really good friends with one of them, and I had her purposely leave my name off each time. The teachers were suspicious, sure, but they didn't say anything. I figured that was what the guys wanted, someone less smart than them. I mean, I had the boyfriends right? Oh well, maybe not the right ones. But they were good looking. And that matters. I think. Sorry I just like totally shot my mouth off…I hope you don't mind, there I go again ranting and raving!"

"Haha, that hardly sounds like ranting and raving to me. It's just getting your feelings out! That's just fine with me, really, I don't mind. I actually kinda like hearing you talk. Cause you always say interesting things, seriously I've never met anyone like you. But I must say, you're at least partly right. Anyone who said looks don't matter had his head stuck where the sun don't shine. They aren't everything, but they matter."

"Hmm, is that a good thing? The interesting me part?"

"Sure. I think it is. You're unique I like that." _I like you too. No, I more than like you. I want you, like you,_ he thought. He knew he couldn't tell her that. Not just yet.

Lily gazed into the fire. "Ever wonder what it would be like to be someone else?" she asked aloud.

"Yeah, sure. A lot actually. You know, I actually get sick of having girls hanging off of me all the time. Disgusting really. You know that kid? Arthur Weasley? No, you probably don't. He's a nice guy. Really nice. Smart too. And even with the flaming red hair, he's not too bad looking, if I can say that. You know, being a guy and all. But he's normal. He's got his share of the ladies, but they don't follow him around like mosquitoes follow the light. Some days I just wish I could trade spaces with Weasley for a day. To see what it would like to be normal. He's got a wizarding family, you know. People don't call him mudblood. Traitor maybe, but not mudblood. Dirty word. Er, by the way, I'm a pureblood. I just don't care about birth. It's stupid how the slytherins play it really. Sigh I guess it's my turn to rant, huh?"

"Like you said, I don't mind either. You're different than the guys I've gone around with too. From what I can see you're pretty popular, but you don't seem like a sex-craving jerk. You seem like a really nice guy. Yeah, you're right. I don't know who that Arthur is. Show me sometime. I think you're fine being yourself, though. Don't worry about being pureblood, I don't care about blood either. And for the record, you don't need to trade spaces with anyone. I swear, you're fine the way you are. I mean, not many guys can be a girl magnet like you and not be a jerk."

"Haha, you'd be surprised! I'm not perfect, and certainly I'm no longer friends with my exes. For what it's worth, they all think I'm an ass."

"I don't see why."

"You've known me only a day. I was a jerk. But then you know, I looked at myself in the mirror and said to myself, _James, what are you doing? Is this really what you want?_ And you know, I realized that it wasn't, and that it was time to change. So I decided to, you know, be more of the good guy than the bad guy. I mean, sure a lot of girls want 'the bad boy' but I've realized that isn't me. I thought about what you said earlier about Snape. And, well, you're right. He doesn't do anything to me, so what am I doing being a jerk to him? I guess I decided to not bother him anymore. Mainly for you. Cause you asked."

James thought he heard a snort from somewhere in the room, but he wasn't sure. "Lily, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"It sounded like, like someone laughing or something. I'm not sure. Maybe it's my imagination or something. I'm pretty tired. But that's honestly the 3rd time I heard something strange around us. I'm starting to worry."

"Naw, I didn't hear anything. Maybe you are just tired. Who would be up at this hour?"

"Well, you and I are. But I doubt anyone else is. Everyone's probably sleeping right now, so we don't have to worry."

"You know what? If I was with any of my normal guy friends right now, that realization, the one about everyone being asleep, might have really bothered me. You know, cause they would have tried to take advantage of me or something. That's what they all wanted. A friggin piece. But I trust you. That's definitely a good thing," Lily said, smiling again.

James thought he heard the funny snorting noise again, but he didn't say anything this time. _Jeez, I'm really losing it aren't I._ "Kind of um, romantic here sitting in front of the fire, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I suppose it is." Lily stared into the fire. "It was never like this with any of the others."

"Others?"

"Yeah, the other guys. We'd just, you know, go in the closets and get it on." Noticing the look on James' face she added, "I'm still a virgin though. Surprising maybe, with all my stories. But I just, I don't know. Couldn't do it."

"Haha, that's good. With all the rumors around about me too you'd think I'd have done it too. But I haven't. I have to admit that I spread some myself, cause I mean, being a 'girl magnet' as you put it, it doesn't really mix with not getting laid. Wow. You know, I just realized, that's pretty shallow of me. What in the hell was I thinking?"

"Hah, we all make mistakes. I've made a motherload, so I totally understand. But what I don't get is why girls throw themselves at guys and just do whatever in the hell they say. I mean really, where does that get you but pregnant out on the street with no job, half an education at fifteen or sixteen?"

"I've thought and thought about that, but I can't seem to come up with a decent response. I guess those girls must be either stupid as hell or brainwashed. If I was a girl, well, I'd be gay, but anyways, if I was a girl I wouldn't take crap for two seconds. It's got to be really degrading to act like that. Or, be treated like that. I try not to treat girls like that. I prefer to treat them as a princess, as they should be treated."

"Wow, that's the first time I heard that."

"What the hell kind of guys were you hanging around? Were they born in the damn gutter? Jeez, you definitely deserve better than that. Man oh man. I can't believe this. A girl like you, getting craaap like that. Unbelieveable. Well, you just tell me if you get any crap here, and I'll take care of it." _Hopefully I won't need to cause you'll be mine, _he thought. Giving in to his desire, he ignored that fear and put his arm around her. He turned her body towards his, and she relented to his touch. She leaned over and rested her head against James' chest. He inhaled sharply, breathing in her scent. It was intoxicating.

"You know, James, this might work," Lily said finally.

James' heart skipped a beat. "What did you just say? What might work?"

"Oh, that. Umm, that was nothing. I meant like, here. This school. It might be all right." Lily's heart was beating like a drum. _I hope he can't feel that,_ she thought. _That was close. I can't let him know that I like him. What if he doesn't like me? Well, as more than a friend._

James' heart sunk. He was hoping that Lily had meant them. "Lily," he began. "I know that this is weird and all. But I've never felt like this with any other girl. Like, that feeling that you've known someone all your life, but you just met them. I've known you for only a few hours, but I feel like I've known you forever. I don't get it. Call it fate or whatever, but I mean it."

"Aww, James. That's so sweet. That's the first time I've heard that one, but I guess I see what you're saying. I just spilled my gut to you, and I don't usually do that. Girls that wear their hearts on their sleeves are idiots."

James smiled at her. "Glad I could be of service. And you're right too. They are idiots." Seeing Lily raising her eyebrows at that comment he added, "No, you aren't. You're fine. Understandably so. I mean, all that crap that happened to you, how could you keep it bottled inside?"

"Yeah, I guess. I don't write in a diary, cause someone could find it, and that would be a disaster!"

"Um, Lily?"

"Yeah?"

He hoped she couldn't feel him, pressing into her back. He adjusted a little bit so that he was sure she couldn't. "I've never asked a girl this before, but, uh…"

"Uhhh what?"

"Can I um. Kiss you?"

Lily giggled. "No guy has ever asked me that before. Ever. They just, did it when they wanted it. Always the gentleman, huh?"

_No, I've never asked that either,_ he thought, _but you seem different. I don't want to lose you over a stupid kiss that I tried to steal._

"Well, when you put it that way, I guess I wouldn't mind."

Lily turned to face him, and he put his hand in her hair. Their faces neared and their lips finally met. James' tongue glazed her lips, requesting entry to her mouth. Slowly she let it in. James' tongue inspected her mouth, and she the same for him. They kissed slowly and passionately, James running his hand through Lily's hair. Lily reached over and put her arms around James neck. As she pulled away, she rested her hear on James' shoulder.

"Yes," Lily sighed. "I think this'll work." James didn't hear her. He was listening hard for any weird sounds around the room. He could have sworn that he heard the portraithole door swing shut. But, maybe it was his imagination. Choosing to ignore it, he instead turned to Lily, who had once more fallen asleep upon his chest.


	5. A Mysterious Visitor

heyy guys sorry its been kind of long since i've updated but it just kind of makes me sad that no1 ever review lol im like umm...is it not that great? should i start over with something else? i guess as most of u who are authors know that reviews n stuff make ur work feel appreciated. when i get ppl that give me a heads up even a word or 2 that they like or appreciate what im doin or whatever it makes me wanna get right to writing the next ch. if not i wonder if im doin the right thing. if its not too much to jus post one when ur done reading, it'd be appreciated, thanks! i love checking my email and being like omg yay ppl like what im doing lol. thanks bunches!

3 jrosie

ps thanks to the 2 of u who have reviewed thus far :-)

James awoke early the next morning, Lily still sound asleep on his chest.

"Lily," he cooed quietly. Blinking her eyes into the sunlight that was beginning to pour through the window, Lily groaned.

"Do we have to get up?" she asked groggily.

"Yes, dear. Double Potions this morning. And charms." That last part was difficult for James to say. He hated charms, with a passion. It was going to be difficult with Lily's mum for a professor, even if she wasn't _really_. But no one else knew that fact.

"Come on Lily you don't want everyone to find us here like this. Don't you think it might look a bit funny?" James asked her.

"Oh crap, you're right. I need to go shower and get dressed. In my uniform this time, I er, forgot yesterday and McGonagall wasn't too pleased. What time is Potions?"

"9:00 am sharp. Don't be late; old Sluggy hates it. He, er, doesn't care for me much. Actually he has his favorites, I'm just not one of them. A whole fan club of them really. it's a bit dodgy if you ask me at times though. I suppose his classes aren't too bad."

"Yeah, I like potions. It was my best subject at Owlhorns'."

"I thought transfiguration was your best subject?"

"Well, not really. I guess everything is my best subject. I hate people knowing about that though because then it seems like I'm bragging or something and that's the last thing I want people to think. I want people to like me, not hate me. What I meant was, I guess, that I had a really great potions teacher and she really taught me a lot about it. She made me like the class a lot. I was thinking about maybe being a healer, you know, at St. Mungo's. If I don't do that, though, I'll probably be an auror. I know it's dangerous but that's all right – I'm up for a challenge. Oh and, er, James?"

"Lily?"

"I don't have charms with you today. I'm taking a class all by myself with my mom, because during charms I have special lessons with Dumbledore. You see, at Owlhorn's, we had this class in the history of the universe. It's about how magic originated, and how the universe originated. I thought it was really interesting. I just hope Dumbledore is as good a teacher as my old one was. But I suppose I'll live regardless. Did you know there was a special section of the department of mysteries concerning the beginning of the universe? Since no one was actually there at the time, it's a very questionable subject, and the door to that branch is always locked. I always thought it would be an interesting branch of magic to pursue but it isn't enough action for me. They also handle communications with other planets and galaxies. Fascinating really. But anyways, I'll see you in a bit."

James looked taken aback. "Yeah, that'll do. And, oh, Lily? I was wondering if you wanted a little tour of the castle with me. I know this castle like the back of my hand in the dark. Every trick of it. It's quite amazing really. You'll see, if you're up to it? Maybe tonight? Or tomorrow morning? No classes tomorrow…"

"Sure, I'm up for it tonight after my charms session with…her… We should meet after dinner in the Great Hall. Deal?"

"Deal." And with that James watched as Lily ascended the stairs to the girls' dormitories.

"Where were you?" asked Amy. Lily glanced around the room, expecting to see Lacey, but she did not.

"I was in the common room. I couldn't sleep, and I was rather upset and didn't want to wake you. Is that ok? It's not against school rules is it?" Lily looked anxious.

"Oh, no, not at all," said a girl with brown hair that framed her face in ringlets. "By the way, I'm Aurora. Aurora Brigette. But you can call me Ari. Everyone else does."

"No, everyone else calls you Ari-ya-gona-sleep-with-me?" Lacey waited for Ari's reaction before shouting "JUST KIDDING" and bursting into fits of giggles as a pillow flew across the room at her via Ari's wand.

"Don't mind her," Ari told Lily. "She's just a prat who _thinks_ she's funny. Oy Cassia! Malvina! The rest of you girls! Wake the hell up!" Ari proceeded to wake the six Gryffindor girls that remained under the sheets. One by one beginning with the furthest bed, the bedclothes flew off the beds and onto the floor at their feet.

Lily peered around the corner. There were eight individual shower stalls on the far wall. She blinked. She could have sworn there were eight. Yet she looked again, and saw nine. "Well, Lily," Lacey said, sounding surprised, "I guess the castle knew you were coming. We have an extra shower stall just for you."

Lily nodded and freshened up for her first official class as a Hogwarts student. Finishing quickly, she followed the other Gryffindor students to her first classroom, ready for an interesting session. She scanned the crowd searching for James. He wasn't there. As class began, Lily realized that James still hadn't arrived in class. She also noticed she was in a room with several green-robe clad students, and as she counted she found the same amount as red-robe clad students. _Green_, she thought, _wasn't that the Slytherins who are obsessed with bloodline that James was talking about? Oh no, this will be a nasty class I think._ Lily rolled her eyes, but she suddenly realized that the Slytherins were all crowding around a certain greasy haired boy, and were all whispering excitedly together amidst choruses of giggles.

"Hello everyone, as most of you – would the fourteen of you hooligans _please_ settle down and take your seats? What is all of this hubbub about anyways?" asked Professor Slughorn, sounding a little bit more than irritated. A rapt knocking sounded from somewhere within Slughorn's office. Obviously perplexed, Slughorn turned towards his office door, immediately drawing his wand and forgetting about the whispering Slytherins in the corner. He crept towards his office door, and, turning it slowly, muttered _Lumos_ and his wand illuminated the dark bowels of his office quarters. "Who's there?" he asked gruffly. He sounded a bit nervous, as if he expected someone to jump out and shout "_Avada Kadavra_" at him.

"Er, Professor?" a minute yet familiar voice came from a wall within the room. Shining his lighted wand in the direction of the voice, Slughorn was anxious to know who was in his office. There, on the wall, was a portrait of a wrinkly old woman sitting on a rocking chair in a garden full of green. Or, at least, it was _supposed_ to be a wrinkly old woman. Instead the 3D image of James Potter stood before him in front of the rocking chair.

"James? Someone painted a portrait of you did they? Who would have done that? How much did you pay? If it was under a million galleons, Potter, they must have been intoxicated by firewhiskey or something of the sort. cough I mean, well, what do you want James?"

"Professor, I'm not a picture. Snape did it. Some, I don't know, bloody spell that the… bloody bastard invented. Can you…can you get me out of here? That's why I'm late. I can't get out! He's got a book of them, I swear it."

"Mr. Potter for this I don't know a counter spell. If you would like I could call Severus in here to fix it for you? I'll ask him if he has a book of spells he's invented. I can always tell when someone is lying."

"O.K. Are you going to punish him?"

"Er, of course Mr. Potter. I can't let a deed such as this to go unpunished." With that Slughorn turned and waddled back to the potions room a few feet from where James was stuck in the portrait.

"Severus, a word if you will."

"Professor, is there something wrong?"

"Of course there is something wrong I am asking to see you in my office now get there immediately. As for the rest of you," Slughorn instructed the remainder of the classroom, "turn to page 362 and proceed working on the tooth straightening potion. I shall return momentarily." A few sniggers erupted from the Slytherins, but the Professor ignored this and returned to where Severus and James were awaiting him.

"Severus," the Professor said rather quietly, "what do you have to say for yourself? What do you call this!" He pointed at the picture hanging on the wall. James was livid. Severus began to giggle.

"Snape!" James hissed. "Get me out of here ya bloody prat!"

"Now, now, Jamesie, you expect me to get you out with an attitude like that?"

"Don't call me that!" James erupted.

"Severus," Slughorn interrupted, "I suggest you do it and you do it right now or else instead of a week of detentions you will receive 5 months worth. How do you think this will make our house look to the headmaster? Twenty points from Slytherin. You should know better. Now get Mr. Potter out of this mess. Oh, and Severus? Do you have a book of these…strange spells that you have invented?"

A very placid look spread over Severus' face. "Why of course not. I've never invented a spell. Anyways, very well, Professor. I'll get him down." He flashed a greasy grin towards James. "_Corpulus Regali_." A whooshing sound was heard and James reappeared, whole, in the office. He collapsed in a heap on the floor.

"Are you ok, Potter? Do you need Madam Pomfrey to see you?"

"No, no, I'll live. I'm ok." The reply was slightly muffled. "Just give me a few seconds to straighten myself."

"Very well. I'll see you in your seat in five minutes. Severus, you get in your seat as well. And not a word once you arrive there. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir." Snape scowled. He trudged to his seat followed by the Professor. A few minutes later James emerged from the office covered in dust. He also took his seat a few rows behind Lily. She turned and smiled at him as she worked on her potion. The liquid in her cauldron was already beginning to turn the whitish color that a perfect mixture procured. James sighed as he glanced in her direction. _Gosh she's really something_, he thought.

"Erm, Professor?" James looked towards the place where Professor Slughorn was standing. "What would you like me to do? Everyone else is pretty much done with their potions and class is almost over. Is there something I can make it up with?"

"Okay, Potter. Two feet of parchment about why one shouldn't tell lies." The Professor doled out his assignment rather loudly, and the class sniggered. James' cheeks burned. He met eyes with the other three marauders. They all knew that the Slytherins would pay, they just weren't quite sure how yet. James was also worried about what Lily would think, because she told him to be nice to Snape.

Potions ended and James waited for Lily as she put her perfect draught into a flagon and placed it on Slughorn's desk.

"Lily, dear?"

"Yes, Professor?"

"A word?"

"Er, I have a meeting with Dumbledore in a few minutes, well, a class actually so if it's quick?"

"Well, actually Lily I wanted to congratulate you. Only young Severus has talent that goes anywhere near yours. I was amazed at the skill you demonstrated this morning. Incredible, really."

"But Professor it was only one – "

"My dear Lily, I can tell these things. Lunch in my office today?"

"Oh, I'm soryr, like I said I do have a class. Maybe some other time."

"Yes, some other time. Run along now. I wouldn't want you to be late for Dumbledore."

By the time Lily turned around, James had already cleaned her cauldron area for her. "Oh James, you shouldn't have! You're going to be late."

"Poppycock I'll be just fine. You're going to be late too and Dumbledore's way more important than er… well I guess I shouldn't have said that."

"Nah, that's ok. Don't worry about it."

Lily walked slowly along the corridor towards Dumbledore's office. "Chocolate frogs," she mumbled toward the stony gargoyle and it leapt out of the way. About to knock loudly on the headmaster's office door, something abruptly stopped her. She leaned in close to the oaken door and listened quietly.

(A/N: this might look slightly familiar lol)

"Good evening. Tom," came the voice of Dumbledore. "Won't you sit down?"

"Thank you," came another voice, but Lily wasn't sure whose. "I heard that you had become headmaster, a worthy choice." It was a high, cold voice that made Lily's hair on the back of her neck prickle.

"I'm glad you approve. May I offer you a drink?" Dumbledore spoke again. It seemed he was a very polite type of person. Lily wondered whether he expected this meeting with the mystery 'Tom' inside his office, or if it had been a rather unpleasant surprise. Did he forget about her? Lily did not know.

"That would be welcome. I have come a long way." The other voice sent shivers down Lily's spine once again. She heard footsteps and held her breath, but the door did not open. Breathing freely once again, she listened close to the door. She wondered who on earth the mystery guest called Tom could be.

"So, Tom…to what did I owe the pleasure.?"

"They do not call me 'Tom' anymore. These days, I am known as – "

Upon hearing this, Lily wondered whether she had known the figure by his nickname of which he spoke.

"I know what you are known as, but to me, I'm afraid, you will always be Tom Riddle. It is one of the irritating things about old teachers. I am afraid that they never quite forget their charges' youthful beginnings"

The name sounded vaguely familiar to Lily, and she assumed it was something her mother, if one could call her that, had mentioned before in passing.

"I am surprised you have remained here so long. I always wondered why a wizard such as yourself never wished to leave school."

Lily, too, pondered this idea. _Why would anyone ever want to stay permanently in school?_ She thought.

"Well, to a wizard such as myself, there can be nothing more important than passing on ancient skills, helping hone young minds. If I remember correctly, you once saw the attraction in teaching, too."

Lily's eyebrows raised. To her knowledge, Dumbledore didn't teach any classes, and there had never been a Professor Riddle teaching at Hogwarts.

"I see it still. I merely wondered why you – who are so often asked for advice by the Ministry, and who have twice, I think, been offered the post of Minister – "

"Three times at the last count, actually. But the Ministry never attracted me as a career. Again, something we have in common, I think."

"I have returned, later, perhaps, than Professor Dippet expected…but I have returned, nevertheless, to request again what he once told me I was too young to have. I have come to ask that you permit me to return to this castle to teach. I think you must know that I have seen and done much since I left this place. I could show and tell your students things they can gain from no other wizard."

Lily wanted to know even more, now, who this mystery wizard was. She now knew he was after a teaching position, and he seemed, to her, very dark. She assumed he had a fancy for the dark arts, just from the tone of his voice and a vibe she sensed from within the room she knew all too well was not Dumbledore's. _What things is he talking about? I wonder if my old school was better, then, if there are things that this mystery Tom Riddle says that Hogwarts lacks._

"Yes, I certainly do know that you have seen and done much since leaving us. Rumors of your doings have reached you old school, Tom. I should be sorry to believe half of them."

"Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns lies. You must know this, Dumbledore."

"You call it 'greatness,' what you have been doing, do you?"

"Certainly. I have experimented; I have pushed the boundaries of magic further, perhaps, than they have ever been pushed – "

"Of some kinds of magic. Of some. Of others, you remain…forgive me…woefully ignorant."

From this Lily sensed that her deductions from before had been correct.

"The old argument. But nothing I have seen in the world has supported your famous pronouncements that love is more powerful than my kind of magic, Dumbledore."

"Perhaps you have been looking in the wrong places."

"Well, then, what better place to start my fresh researches than here, at Hogwarts? Will you let me return? Will you let me share my knowledge with your students? I place myself and my talents at your disposal. I am yours to command."

"And what will become of those whom _you_ command? What will happen to those who call themselves – or so the rumor has it – the Death Eaters?"

"My friends will carry on without me, I am sure."

"I am glad to hear that you consider them friend. I was under the impression that they are more in the order of servants."

Lily was taken aback by what she had just heard. Death Eaters? Why would anyone want to be called a Death Eater? What exactly did they do? Servants? She wondered if they were house elves, or related to the house elves in any way.

"You are mistaken."

"Then if I were to go to the Hog's Head tonight, I would not finda group of them – Nott, Rosier, Mulciber, Dolohov – awaiting your return? Devoted friends indeed, to travel this far with you on a snowy night, merely to wish you luck as you attempted to secure a teaching post?"

This was obviously a dark man. Her mind wondered for a moment. _Why would anyone want to immerse themselves in the dark arts?_ She thought. When her mind slowly reground itself to the present, she found that Dumbledore and Riddle were still talking.

"If you do not want to give me a job – "

"Of course I don't. And I don't think for a moment you expected me to. Nevertheless, you came here, you asked, you must have a purpose."

"This is your final word?"

"It is."

Lily heard the scraping of chair legs along the floor and her heart began to pound. In a few minutes the door before her would open, and the mystery guest and Dumbledore would find her. She doubted very much whether Dumbledore would mind her presence, since she was supposed to be there, yet she was increasingly uneasy about the second character present in the room with the headmaster. Her gut told her that he would not take a liking to an eavesdropper. She shrank back against the wall. Clutching her wand to her self, she pointed it at her chest and hoarsely whispered a highly advanced, human transfiguration spell that instantly turned her into a fly. Attaching herself to the wall, she tried to turn her body to get a better look at the strange man, but was unable to do so quick enough to see more than the black mass of robes with a head and feet attached making their way down the corridor. She waited for him to exit down the hall completely before transforming back to her original state. She waited a solid ten minutes before knocking loudly on Dumbledore's door.

James crept down the hall towards the Gryffindor common room, donning his invisibility cloak. He knew that if he was caught that he would be in serious trouble. Skipping class, especiallyProfessor Evans', was a death wish if he had any intentions of impressing Lily, and it didn't do wonders for his marks in the class, either.Professor Evans did not take attendance, feeling that it was a student's responsibility to show up, but in-class assignments were heavily weighted. He was sure that Sirius and the rest of the Marauders would be wondering where he was, and whether Snape had gotten a hold of him once again. But this was something that he, alone, had to plan for. Snape had done it alone, and James was no coward. He would pounce on the prat when he was least expecting it – by himself – seeking his revenge.

Suddenly, James heard footsteps coming down the hall towards him. He checked the map in his hand, the Marauders' map – three years work of careful investigation, and planning on the part of himself and his three best friends. _Now that's odd,_ James thought. _It can't be Filch, he's on the third floor with Mrs. Norris. An unlabeled dot? That can't be. No person is unplottable!_ _Is the map malfunctioning? The boys wouldn't like this news._

James glanced up from his map to look at the figure that was nearing him. It was a man in a cloak with a long, sallow face and beady eyes. Not much hair on the head, he noted. _Gee, he could really use some hair-growing draught, I suppose_. But the man was not old. This was another oddity that James surmised from his gauging of the strange man. He sensed that this man did not belong in the school. Thinking Dumbledore might like to know about this, he paused wondering whether he should go and alert the headmaster. He decided against it, and instead decided to silently follow the mystery figure.

Treading along behind, James listened to all sounds that echoed the halls, so that he would not be caught by anyone around. He heard faintly the sound of the man's voice, slight in a whisper.

"No one will hold that position permanently. Curse it! Curse it I say! Dumbledore thinks he can deny Lord – ? He is sadly mistaken. Sadly. It is mine. I will have it one day, whether the old crow thinks so or not. Hmph."

_Lord? Lord who?_ James thought to himself. He felt a funny vibration come from the fleeing man as he cursed the position that he spoke of. James wondered what, exactly, the position was. He assumed it had something to do with teaching, but wondered which one. He hoped it was Professor Binns'. It was worse than Professor Evans'.

PLOP

The man dropped a small booklet, it appeared, but did not seem to notice his error. James stopped when he realized that he had come into the entranceway, and the mysterious man was leaving through the great doors that were the exit to the great school. He walked toward the book and picked it up, turning it over and over. He opened it, but no words were found in it; it was completely empty. _That's odd_ he thought once again. Too many strange things were going on. Something wasn't right, and James could feel it all over his body.

The doors slammed and he winced, wondering whether Mrs. Norris had heard and would come lurking soon. He did not know whether the man had been a welcomed guest or not. Lost in thought, James made his way back toward the Gryffindor common room to plan an excellent revenge against his arch enemy at Hogwarts. _No,_ he thought aloud. _Not just against Snivvellus. For this, his whole lot shall pay._

The booklet, though it might seem that way, is not Riddle's diary. I figured people would pick up on that and get mad or something. lol well that was my beta's idea anyways :-P i hope you like it, and of course, REVIEW:-)


	6. Exploring the Castle

hello all, sorry it took so long but its been crazy here doin college apps and working and whatnot. my boyfriend is visitin his ma in lynn and i miss him soo much! haha hes amazing... kinda my love inspiration a lil bit when im writing. now dont take that too far tho guys cuz theres some quite erotic stuff at the end of this chapter. so i am warning you, if you are offended by sex dont continue reading lol. but anyways, thanks to my lovely reviewers! and yes i know lily and james hate eachother once again. few more chapters and you will seeeeee

leave me some good reviews!

James stood determinedly pacing the common room, though he knew he was supposed to be in Charms listening to the sharp voice of Professor Evans and the occasional banging of the piano that she made to obtain the class's attention.

"You're going to wear a hole in the floor," came a voice from behind him.

"Ah!" he shouted, startled. "Oh, it's only you. Dear Lord, Lily, I thought McGonagall had caught me or something."

"James, How come you're not in class?"

"How come you're not?"

"Mine is done. It's only half as long as our regular classes because of how it was set up in Owlhorn's. Oh and hey I almost forgot to tell you, Dumbledore changed my schedule so that now my charms classes are Tuesday and Thursday after History of Magic with Binns. Which also means that I'm free tonight earlier. You wanted to give me that tour, right? I think it'd be really cool. Make me feel more at home you know? I guess I've got more secrets I need to pour as well. You wouldn't mind would you?"

"Haha, of course I wouldn't mind. Anything for you of course. But I think we should wait on my little tour until later because for the next half of the period everyone else is still in class. Do you mind if I go take a nap though? I mean if I'm going to be up for tonight and everything I don't feel too well at the moment."

"Anything to do with what happened this morning?" asked Lily, "Actually, what _did_ happen? I couldn't hear anything the green people were saying."

"Green people? Hahahaha," James laughed. "I think that just made my day. You mean Slytherins? Yeah, they were talking about me all right. I'll tell you later tonight – I guess it's a bit of a long story. You might change your mind about Severus Snape once I'm done, though."

"James, honestly, is rivalry really worth it? Being a prat back to him even if he does things to you only fuels the fire."

"Well, you do have a point. But still. Anyways I'll see you in a little bit." James knew very well that he had no intentions of sleeping, but instead planning his revenge right under the nose of Lily Evans, which he did feel relatively guilty about. He walked slowly towards his dormitory, throwing one last glance at the beautiful girl downstairs before he entered the right room.

James lay down on his bed and started up at the ceiling. His mind was drawing a big blank. All he could think about was the dashing, auburn-tressed girl downstairs. He mentally slapped himself, trying desperately to concentrate on his mission at hand. Suddenly, like a light bulb exploding, an idea came to mind. He fingered the buttons on his robes, hoping that the other Marauders would feel the message.

A few halls over, Remus and Sirius felt their robe buttons begin to slightly vibrate. "Is that James? Or Peter?" Remus voiced his query out loud.

"Maybe it's Peter, I haven't seen him since Charms. Have you?" Sirius responded. "Wait, what about what happened to James this morning? How come, do you think, that he didn't alert us then?"

"Probly because either he thought there was no way we COULD help him, or because he didn't want to look stupid in front of us. I think he was going for the whole letting the least amount of people know as possible thing. Didn't really work though, that whole lot of Slytherins sickens me."

"I know the feeling, it's the same here. But I think we should head right up to the boys dormitories, I'm betting James is in there, he wasn't in charms did you notice that? I just happened to think. I doubt he got shit on again though, I think he was planning revenge actually. That dog, skipping class. Haha, no pun intended."

Remus chuckled. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Peter, I guess, can live on his own. I've got no clue where he is. Does it really matter?"

Sirius thought for a minute. "No, not really. James needs us I think. Let's go." As he finished his sentence the two boys raced up to the Gryffindor tower to find their friend.

"Hi, Lily. Bye, Lily," they said as they raced up the stairs past the auburn-haired girl sitting in front of the fire. She looked at them quizzically, wondering what the rush was.

"Hey," she said back to them, but it was doubtful that they heard. The door had already closed behind them.

"Thank goodness I was afraid you blokes missed the signal!" James punched Sirius in the shoulder.

"Hey now, what was that all about? You bloody prat, James." Sirius punched him back. "What did you want anyways?"

"I've got a plan. Here's what I want you to do."

"Us?" Questioned Remus.

"Yeah, you. I've got a date with Miss Lily, right about now actually. So, I want you to carry it out for me. I'm giving Lily a tour by the way, in case you wanted to know. She's new, so I figured she'd like to be shown around, you know?"

"Ooh la la," Sirius teased.

"Shut up, you wanker."

"You wank just as much as anyone else here James," Sirius retorted. James blushed a slightly rosy shade.

"AANYWAYS," James interrupted. "Here's the plan. You need bread and peanut butter, and as many condiments as you can find. Ok, here's what you do…"

"All ready, Lily?" Lily jumped about a foot in the air as James came up behind her. His invisibility cloak tucked safely in his pocket, he took Lily's hand and led her from the common room.

"Okay, so what kind of tour do you want? Explanations and everything? Or just me pointing out stuff and things like that?"

"Explanations is cool, do you know a lot about the castle?"

"Yeah, I suppose, since I've been around the block a few times, exploring the castle," he added noticing the look on Lily's face. "By the way, though, I have my invisibility cloak with me. I know for a fact this is going to take a while, and just in case we're out late I don't want to be found by Filch or Mrs. Norris."

"Who?"

"Filch is the caretaker, and he's a squib. He's a right prat, that one. Nasty attitude. Nasty smell, too come to think of it. Sometimes I wonder whether he showers more than once during the school year." James paused. "Well, then again, maybe I don't wonder. But you get my point." Lily giggled.

"On with the tour?" she asked.

"All righty. This is, obviously, the Gryffindor tower, and that's the fat lady. I didn't want to say that loud, you know how women are, but anyways, the password to get in changes about every month or so. Or whenever she feels it needs changing. The prefects will let you or anyone else know what it is, and don't worry you won't get locked out ever. Aanyways, I'm going to warn you of one thing. Well, actually, have you met Peeves?"

"Who? Jeez I feel like the major outcast still, I don't know anyone! Who is Peeves?"

"That would be our resident poltergeist. He's a crazy thing, really. Absolutely loves havoc. I don't think I'd be surprised if his middle name was havoc at all. If he even has a middle name? Oh well, I don't know. But surely, watch out, because he is quite the prankster. Almost as bad as me." James chuckled. "Me and the boys like to play a few practical jokes now and then. Life's too boring with out a little spice, you know? Well, I guess we just took it as our job to create that little spice. By the way, we call ourselves the Marauders. You know how Peter, Remus, Sirius, and I are pretty much always together? Well it's the four of us. We've got nicknames too I guess, but that's not important no one but each other calls us that, mostly for secretive purposes when we're sneaking around."

"Aww, that's kind of cute. Can I ask what yours is? I won't tell – I promise."

"I would tell you, but then I'd have to kill you," said James half seriously.

Lily laughed. "I understand I suppose, it's your thing. You're entitled to it."

"Well, I suppose so. Anyways," James went on as they found a staircase and headed down it. "I figured we'd start at the bottom and work our way up." They reached the ground floor after what seemed like an eternity, having to switch staircases as each case would adjust its position whenever it seemed the least convenient for Lily and James.

James led Lily around hallway after hallway, mostly of classrooms when they reached the Great Hall. James opened the door and held it while Lily gazed inside the room. The sunlight was waning, the last of its rays drifting from the windows of the hall.

"Wow, James, it's really beautiful when the sun is setting huh?" The bewitched ceiling, made to look like the outside sky, seemed to be a million contrasting shades of pastels all blending into a gorgeous harmony of color.

"Yeah, but no one's usually here to see it. Except I suppose in late winter people catch a little of it because the sun sets earlier. Most dances and things like that are in here, obviously so are meals. At the beginning of the year we all sit here while the first years are sorted into houses. You see, there's this hat that's magic. It's from the founders of Hogwarts, Rowena Ravenclaw, Salazar Slytherin, Helga Hufflepuff, and of course, Godric Gryffindor."

"Oh, that was that hat that Dumbledore put on me in his office. I was wondering what on earth that was. Well obviously it's a bewitched hat, but you know what I mean."

James chuckled as Lily blushed. He continued on, "After the sorting, there's a huge beginning of term feast and Dumbledore gives his usual speech. Always in there somewhere is the list of things that old bat Filch has banned from school. Fooey on the rules I always say, though. My buddies and I, we find various ways of bending the rules."

Lily giggled and James put his arm around her shoulders. For some reason that Lily couldn't explain, her insides tingled like there were little currents of electricity coursing through her veins. It was funny how his simple touch on her shoulder made her heart pound like mad, and created a huge smile across her face. She tried to get rid of the giddy-looking smile, but it wouldn't fade.

James ushered her down the hall past darkened classrooms, some in use during the school year, some completely empty. "Er, James?" Lily asked when they approached another hallway, "isn't that where the teachers' dormitories are?"

"Yes, why?" James stopped dead. "Oh, jeez I'm really sorry, yeah I'd say we should turn around. Here, put this on," he added, pulling her close to his body and throwing his cloak over them. "This way, even if she does come near or whatever, she can't see us. You don't mind do you? I mean us being this close and everything?" James was worried that he was going to make Lily nervous or uncomfortable, and that was the last thing he wanted.

"Of course I don't mind. I don't want to get caught; I'd be in BIG trouble. My mom doesn't even want me talking to boys-did you know that? Screw her though. I forgot to tell you, she called me into her office earlier, and that's what she told me. 'Lay low,' she says. Yeah, lay low my ass. She's telling me to not be me, you know what I mean?"

James jus turned to Lily under the cloak and looked at her. "You're kidding."

"No, not at all. It sucks. But I honestly do not give a rat's ass what she says. I'm going to be myself. You know, I'm probly going to sound like a broken record here, but I think my adoptive parents missed something about learning how to actually BE parents. I mean really, don't they understand the minute a parents says 'no you cannot do whatever' to a kid, the minute after that the kid is going to find a way to do it regardless."

James began to lead Lily in the opposite direction that they had just come, away from the staff quarters. "You're exactly right, Lily. That's one thing I know I'm going to be real careful of when I'm a parent myself. I know how kids thing. Sometimes I wonder if some parents forget what it was like to actually BE a kid. I don't want to ever be like that."

"I know. Same here. Hitting is another thing, too. That doesn't work either. It just makes a kid really mad. Doesn't reinforce jack. I don't ever want to be hitting my kids. You know, even spanking. I think talking works better, or working it out in some way." James looked at Lily, and her eyes for a moment looked distant, as if she were someplace else. He felt a pang of guilt somewhere in his insides, knowing that somehow, wherever memory Lily's mind was recalling, it wasn't pleasant. While he wondered albeit painfully what it was she was thinking, he resisted the temptation to ask. If she wanted to tell him, she would.

Lily sighed. "Anyways, I think about the future a lot I guess. It sort of, takes me away from the present. I love to just sit somewhere, in class or whatever and daydream. Even if it's about the past. I've got this weird photographic memory thing going on."

"Ok, so as soon as we're done with this tour deal you'll remember every single thing of it right?" James paused before chuckling, as he was not sure how Lily would take the joke. She laughed too.

"Well I don't know about that but I'll sure try." She winked at him, and he felt his insides heat up in a strange way they never had before. He wondered what that meant. Sure, he'd been with other girls before, but for some reason something deep in him was telling him this one was different somehow.

"Anyways, we're here to take a tour right? I don't want to be TOO much of an asshole."

"Asshole? I didn't think you were an asshole."

"Haha, it was more a figure of speech than anything. I'm kind of really enjoying giving this tour, and I guess I just can't resist being myself and joking around a bit." James paused at a broom closet. "And this right here is one of Hogwarts' infamous broom closets, where they hide the freeze-dried mountain trolls. Just add water and you have one fierce beast…No, only joking. I'm pretty sure there's some cleaning crap in here. I wouldn't know." Lily started shaking against him like crazy, and at first James thought she was crying. Thinking he had said something wrong, he turned to apologize profusely, only to realize that Lily's shaking was really a fit of uncontrollable giggles. He sighed in relief.

James put his arm around Lily's waist to lead her around a corner and up a flight of stairs. He wondered whether she would mind that his hand was there, but he felt her body slide closer to his. The feeling of it gave him chills he couldn't explain. But suddenly, he felt the need to stop cold. Someone, somewhere, was in the hall with him. He had a feeling that the someone knew he was there. He was hating this paranoia feeling, hating it with a passion. For some reason, he was getting it a lot, and he sure as hell wanted to know why.

"Er, James?"

"Lily? Is there something wrong?"

"Well, no. I er, have something to tell you I guess." James thought he felt Lily shaking against him and wondered if he was imagining it.

"Yes'm?"

"James, I think I'm falling in love with you. I, well normally I get freaked out by things like this. I get nervous. But I'm not really. It's like, I get this vibe, see. Do I, do I sound crazy to you? I sound crazy to me just saying it out loud. But I couldn't keep it in anymore. When you pulled me to you with your arm on my waist, I got the chills like you couldn't believe." James just started at Lily, trying to process the information he had just been given. He couldn't believe it. She had just voiced out loud the things that had been running through his own head. He just didn't know how or when or if to say them. Suddenly, the great James Potter, hero in all situations, was at a loss for words.

"Er," he began.

"You don't have feelings for me at all like that do you?" Lily asked weakly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. You were just being nice to me I suppose, right? The nice guy thing?" She swore under her breath. _Shit_ she thought. _Well that was bloody stupid. What was I thinking? This guy is gorgeous. I'm at a new school with my mum for a teacher._

"NO!" James said, a bit too loudly. He looked around quickly to see if he had disturbed anyone. His loudness startled Lily, and she looked at him, curious. "I, I was just surprised. I suppose you just voiced the thoughts that have been bouncing all around my head lately. I'm sorry that I was taken a bit aback. I just was thinking all this time that I was doing the wrong thing by getting so close to you, that you didn't want it, especially being a new school and all, who wants crazy attention from some guy they don't know? You know what I mean?"

Lily almost couldn't believe her ears. She hadn't been expecting such a response. Suddenly, James stopped in front of her, and she kept walking right into the back of him. "James, is everything ok?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's fine. I just, oh never mind." James was sure someone was there. Someone, or something at least, was watching him. He wondered it whatever it was could see through the cape, or if it just sensed he was there. He was getting sick of this feeling that kept recurring. He was seriously beginning to wonder whether he was going insane. James didn't dare tell Lily what was up. She obviously couldn't sense it.

Looking around, he realized they were on the seventh floor. He wasn't sure how they had gotten there, other than losing track of where they were headed. There was a special room he and Sirius had discovered one night. It was filled with tons of old things, and he thought it was quite intriguing. When he and Sirius found it, they put on some of the armor in it and play-sword fought throughout the room. He laughed as he remembered the event, and Lily looked at him quizzically and said nothing. He felt her arm around his waist as she pulled him into her and looked up at his face. He knew right away what she was doing, and did nothing to stop it.

"That was kind of abrupt. All that stuff we just said. It was like, ok, out with it. I wanna fix that. Come here James," Lily whispered. James lowered his lips to hers, and passionately kissed her, putting his hand to her face. Lily's tongue ran along his bottom lip, pleading entry and he granted it, swirling his own tongue around hers in his mouth. His other hand found the small of her back and pushed her slowly up against his body. She wrapped her arms around his neck deepening the kiss.

The couple backed up until Lily's back was up against a wall, only there was no wall really there. A door had just appeared in the middle of the hallway. They broke apart, startled at the new object. James shrugged and pulled Lily close to him again. He poked his hand out from under the invisibility cloak to open the knob to the door, desperate for a place to be private. Without much effort, the door swung open and Lily and James toppled into the room. Lily sat up and looked around. It was small, and actually a bit romantic.

"I've never seen this room before," said James, mystified. "This wasn't supposed to be a part of the tour. That's strange. The door just, well, appeared in the wall. Did you see that?" Lily just nodded.

The door slid shut behind them. As Lily continued to glance around taking in her surroundings, she was in awe. The room was covered in red velvet, and there was a double bed in the far corner. There were pillows everywhere. Lily got up and walked toward the bed, and James just stayed planted where he was on the floor.

"Hey James, look. There's an incantation written here," Lily said as she neared the bed. "I – it's a sexual protection spell, I know it. Like those muggle condom things, only, magic. Literally. That's strange. Are you SURE you didn't plan this?"

"Yeah, this is really weird. I swear to you I never had any clue about any of this." Lily couldn't help but believing him. Her strong feelings for him had taken over, and the awestruck look that filled his face was enough to seal her thought on the matter.

She sat on the bed. "James, come to me." As if he was bewitched to obey, James arose and strode quickly over to her, sitting beside her on the bed.

"Are you sure, Lily? I don't want to put you in a situation you don't want to be in."

"James, don't even worry. I am putting MYSELF in this situation. I want it. Well, as long as you do."

When James nodded his head yes, Lily put her fingers to shush him before he could speak again. She turned, flipping one leg over James's lap, straddling him. "Wow," he whispered, but he said nothing more as Lily's lips again covered hers. Their kiss was passionate. This was different for James, not like the other kisses he'd had that were filled with lust. This was true. True love. He could feel it radiate, as if from her soul.

She put her hands on his neck, and pressed into him. She needed him. She needed this. It burned inside her like a fire, a supernova really. She wanted him to be a part of her like nothing else. She moved her hips over him, and could feel his hardness pressing close to her own heat. Taking that to her advantage, she moved her hips more firmly against his body, sure to rub his dick just the right amount to make him need her the same way she needed him. She felt herself become wet, and wondered whether he would take initiative on her pants.

Her thoughts did not go unanswered for long, for James began to tug at the bottom of her shirt. Pulling it off, his heart raced at the sight of her lacy bra. _Holy shit,_ James thought. _Who would have thought all that was hiding under there? Her chest is perfect. Just, well, perfect._ Her breasts were pushed together, and her cleavage was enough to make James' eyes water. He slid his hands over them, feeling her hardened nipples against his skin. He rubbed them softly, and then slid his hands around her back and unhooked her bra, slipping it off gently. He was amazed at how firm and perky her breasts were. He'd never seen anything like it. He wondered to himself why he'd heard her complain about them earlier, how they were small. To him, they were perfect. He bent his head down slightly to kiss one, and then the other. Lily moaned softly.

"James, I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too, Lily." He flicked his tongue on Lily's breasts, and she breathed in sharply. James began to suck softly on her nipples, caressing her back as he did so. Lily's hands found James's zipper, and made quick work of unzipping it though she wasn't in the best position to do so. James adjusted so that she could reach, and proceeded to unzip her pants as well. She stood slightly so he could slide them to the floor. Only her lacy pink thong remained. James wondered if her hair was naturally red. _Well, I guess I'll soon find out_ he thought. He stood as well and his pants fell to the floor. His hardened dick poked out through the slit in his boxers. Lily's eyes widened. It was bigger than she had thought. She tugged at his boxers, and they too fell to the floor. Lily's tiny thong followed.

Lily sat on the bed, and pulled James towards her. She slid her body up onto the bed itself, and he followed her, anxious for her touch. James slid his hand up her thigh, teasing her by swirling his fingers on her leg close to where he could sense her heat. Lily moaned and adjusted so that his hand would slide up toward her pussy. He was surprised to find that she was totally clean, but disappointed to still be wondering whether her hair color was natural. He massaged her clit, moving in a circle until his fingers found her wetness. He slid them in and out until he felt her shake in pleasure. At the same time Lily's hand found his dick, quickly rubbing up and down it until her hand felt wet with his anticipation.

"I think we need to adjust," Lily whispered. James nodded, and Lily's mouth moved toward his hardness. She slid it in and caressed his head with her tongue, pleasuring him up and down to the base with her lips and tongue until he came in her mouth. James left kisses down her body, leaving a trail of fire toward her wetness. His tongue found her clit and he flicked it back and forth on it, sucking gently there. Lily's groans made it obvious she was enjoying his skill. He moved his tongue further, sliding it into Lily's pussy and back out again until she, too, came with him.

"James?" Lily again whispered to him, a bit more hoarsely this time. "I need you inside of me"

"Okay," he responded.

"But wait, the incantation." Lily's hand fell to the floor, and she felt around until she could grab her wand from her pants pocket. She whispered it, and moved on the bed so that she was flat on her back. James slid on top of her, his hardness pressing into her thigh urgently.

"Are you sure, Lily?" he asked her softly.

"Yes, James, I'm sure," she answered, and he obeyed, sliding himself into her wetness. She winced, as it hurt like nothing she had ever felt before in her life. James knew it would be painful for her, so he adjusted as best he could as to not hurt her so much. He slid himself in and out slowly, and his insides burned with passion. Lily's hips rose to meet his, begging for more friction. He moved slightly faster, and he felt himself about ready to burst. Her fingers pushed into his back, and she moaned his name in pleasure.

"There you go, Lily, I'm right behind you," he told her as he felt her hit ecstasy with him. The laid there, intimately joined for a long time before he finally pulled out. She snuggled into him, and he massaged her clit with his fingers until she fell asleep on his chest. He wrapped her in a blanket that was on the floor by a nightstand, and soon he, too was overtaken by the dream world.


End file.
